In the first instance copyright ownership rests with the author or creator of a literary, musical or artistic work. However if the work was undertaken in the course of employment the employer will probably own the copyright unless there is a contract to specify otherwise.

Copyright is unusual in that it can be assigned or sold to another person or organisation: frequently an author may assign some or all of his/her copyrights to a publisher. Therefore when seeking to identify the copyright owner the most likely parties to consider are:

creator/author

employer

person who undertakes the arrangements (commissions the work)

the producer

the publisher

Copyright owners have exclusive rights to their work which include the right:

to copy work

to issue copies of the work to the public

to perform, show or play the work in public

to broadcast the work or include it in a cable programme service

to adapt the work or do any of the above in relation to the adaptation.

Therefore anybody doing any of the above without permission or licence is infringing copyright.